Country Beef Loaf
Submitted by PEACHES
A hearty free-form meatloaf packed with sauteed mushrooms, carrots, celery, and onions, seasoned with fines herbes and soy sauce. Baked crusty-brown on a sheet pan. Serves 4 to 6.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minThis meatloaf skips the loaf pan entirely. Shaped by hand on a sheet pan, it bakes up with a crusty brown exterior on all sides instead of steaming in its own juices.
The secret weapon is cooking the vegetables first. Mushrooms, onion, celery, and shredded carrots get sauteed in butter until crispy-tender, then folded into the ground beef mixture while still warm.
Fines herbes and a splash of soy sauce add a subtle depth that’s hard to pin down but impossible to miss.
The result is a meatloaf that holds together beautifully when sliced, with pockets of tender vegetables throughout and edges that get satisfyingly caramelized.
Pro Tips
- Free-form shaping on a jelly-roll pan lets the fat drain away and all sides develop a crust
- Cooking the vegetables before mixing them in prevents a soggy, wet center
- Mix the meat lightly with your hands. Overworking it makes the loaf dense and tough
- Let it rest 10 minutes after pulling it from the oven so it holds its shape when you slice
Ingredients
Directions
Combine butter or margarine, mushrooms, onion, celery, carrots, and water in a medium-size frying pan.
Heat to boiling, cover and cook 10 minutes or until vegetables are crispy tender.
Combine ground beef, flour, salt, seasoned salt, fines herbes, soy sauce, and cooked vegetable mixture in a large bowl.
Mix lightly, until well-blended.
Shape into a rectangular loaf, 8 X 6, in a greased jelly-roll pan.
Bake in moderate over (350℉/180℃) for 1 hour, or until crusty-brown.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving, if you wish.
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